


The meaning of words

by Aknolan



Category: DuckTales (Cartoon 2017)
Genre: Demigirl Character, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Specifically Lena
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-27
Updated: 2018-08-27
Packaged: 2019-07-03 06:26:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,860
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15813297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aknolan/pseuds/Aknolan
Summary: While hanging out with Webby, Lena stumbles across a word that would explain a lot about her confusing relationship with gender, but how to tell Webby?





	The meaning of words

**Author's Note:**

> If I handled anything poorly or if there's anything where I could have written it better, as always I'd love to know how to improve.

Lena sat leaning against Webby's bed, scrolling on her phone. Webby was on the bed with one of the books she'd taken from Lena's hideout. When the family had realized Lena wasn't gone, they'd taken all of the books from Lena's hideout back to the mansion. Some of them had been essential in getting Lena a real body so she didn't have to be a shadow anymore. The one Webby was reading hadn't been. The books were all still at the mansion, since Webby seemed to like them and nobody but Scrooge cared. Scrooge of course was upset at having magic books in his house but he couldn't say no to Webby. Lena couldn't really blame him for that, she had the same problem with saying no to Webby. Speaking of.

"Lena, you know you can just sit on the bed right?" Webby moved over a bit, patting the place beside her as an invitation. "I'm fine Webs, it's almost comforting having something so solid to sit on." Lena glanced at Webby who didn't look convinced, but she didn't push either. She never did. Only ever asking once, immediately accepting it when Lena didn't want to do something or didn't want to talk about something. Sometimes, it was annoying. Sometimes Lena wished Webby would push, but that had more to do with being used to having a ghost who didn't see her as a person with free will for an aunt. It was better that Webby didn't push. And she didn't have to either.

Lena sighed, "Fine, I'll come sit on the bed." She moved to the spot Webby had made for her, the same spot she always ended up moving to eventually when they decided to just have a calm night. Or about as calm as things can be with Webby in the room. Lena went back to scrolling on her phone, until she saw a word she didn't recognize. Usually that had to do with people using words that were way more difficult than needed, but this word, demigirl, didn't seem that complicated. "Hey, Webby? Do you know what this word means?" Lena tilted her phone so Webby could read it. The younger girl frowned, clearly she knew just as little about the word as Lena did. "Nope." "Alright, I'll just look it up then." With a few taps on her phone Lena found a definition, Webby was still looking at her phone, now also curious.

Lena looked at a few links before picking the one she hoped would give the most reliable definition. The page loaded quickly and both Lena and Webby read what it said and. _Oh. That. That would explain a lot._ Lena glanced at Webby, now nervous to see what she thought of the word. The word that, while Lena wasn't sure it was her word, would still be a start. Lena waited silently for Webby to start talking again, nerves building up in her stomach. Would this be a secret she had to keep from her best friend? After she had promised there would be no more secrets?

"Well that's... vague. I can't imagine what it would be like to only partially be a girl, they could really be a bit clearer about that." "Well... that doesn't make it a bad word, right?" Lena spoke carefully, figuring out her words as she talked, hoping she wouldn't say something stupid that would make Webby notice something. Lena shrugged as she continued, trying to look casual. "It just means these people are bad at explaining." Webby furrowed her brow in confusion. "I guess, but I kinda wanna know more, this is just confusing." "Mhm mhm, yeah, so, anyways, is the book interesting?" Lena looked at the page Webby was on and, you know, maybe that wasn't the best book to be talking about, but she was stuck with it now so. Might as well make the best of it. "You know, I think not-aunt Magica really hated that book for some reason. Never figured out why, but she got really mad at me one time when I was using those spells to change my appearance." She didn't add that she'd tried changing her appearance to that of a boy, before deciding that looking like a boy didn't feel right either. It wasn't a secret, but it wasn't something she really needed to mention either.

"You can use those spells to change your appearance?!" "Technically speaking, yes, practically speaking, absolutely not." "But you just said you used the spells before, so why can't you use them now?" "Back then I had a magical amulet I'd been using for years, now I have a friendship bracelet and I don't exactly have years of experience using its magic." "So then we can't have a super makeover?" Lena thought about it for a moment, seeing how disappointed Webby was, "Hmm... I do have makeup. It's not the same but it does work." The smile returned to Webby's face and Lena smiled in return. "I'll go grab the makeup I'll be back in a few minutes, alright Webs?" Webby nodded, so happy that she was clapping. Lena had noticed her doing that sometimes, she thought it was a cute habit. She got off the bed and almost regretted it, it really was a comfortable place to sit. She started walking towards her room.

Down the ladder, through Webby's door, into the hallway and then a few rooms over. She'd been given some options, which was basically just any room that wasn't already occupied, and got to choose a room. Webby had almost seemed disappointed that Lena hadn't become roommates with her, not that it was much different since Lena usually had sleepovers with Webby anyways. And besides, she was pretty close to Webby. She walked into her room, looking around to try to remember where she'd put the makeup. Obviously not the bookshelf, but she walked to the bookshelf anyways, looking for another book that she thought Webby might be interested in. The books weren't the only things in the room that used to be in her old hideout. Lena had gone back to take some of her favourite things with her, like some posters and the lavalamp. The adults had insisted on Lena having her own space, so they couldn't exactly protest against her doing exactly that, as much as they hated the posters. Having found the book she was looking for, Lena walked over to her desk. The notebook, a gift from Webby, was still on there. Must have forgotten to put it in one of the drawers.

Lena stared at her friendship bracelet, concentrating on the magic inside it. Using the magic, she got her key out of its hiding place, it was the safest way to store it. The only way to get the key to her drawers was with magic, the only magic that could be used in the mansion without setting off alarms was with the bracelets, and the only other person who could use the bracelets was Webby. Or she would be able to, if she had any control over it. As it was, there was no way for someone to open Lena's drawers without her noticing. It was perfect. And probably too much effort for some makeup and a notebook, but whatever. Tea time had convinced Scrooge to give her an allowance so she'd get more stuff to store eventually. For now, she put away the notebook and gathered all of the makeup. Making sure the drawers were locked and the key was hidden, she left the room again.

Lena walked past a few doors until she got to Webby's room, with her hands full she decided that she might as well use a bit of magic to open the door. She still had to get used to magic again after all her not-aunt had done with it, but going one step at a time she could handle it. On the other side of the door, Webby was waiting, bouncing slightly. Lena smiled. _So much for patience._ As soon as Webby saw Lena, she jumped to hug her, ignoring the pile of makeup Lena was holding. Lena let go of the makeup to hug Webby back, making sure to use a bit of magic to keep it all from crashing to the floor, instead hanging in the air with a soft blue glow around it. Lena tried to stifle a laugh. "I'm glad to see you too but that was like, five minutes, Webs." Webby hugged Lena just a little tighter before letting go. Stepping back, she finally noticed the floating makeup, which was slowly returning to Lena's arms. "Lena! You're using magic again!" Webby poked at some of the floating bottles and brushes, looking absolutely delighted at the way they bobbed around as if they were lying in invisible water. Lena smiled as Webby started flapping her hands and bouncing around, poking at everything. There were some perks to using magic, besides convenience.

Lena walked past Webby into the room and moved to the bed, makeup floating behind her all the way up the ladder. She put the book on magic on the bed. Webby had caught one of the bottles of makeup and seemed fascinated by the way it pulled towards Lena. Lena decided to sit on the bed, grabbing her phone again, though she wasn't actually paying attention to it. She tried not to be too obvious with looking at Webby who was still busy with the magically floating makeup. As it turned out, without the pressure of having to help Lena, Webby was almost as fascinated by magic as she was by the adventures of Scrooge. Lena didn't mind. It was easier to use magic if it was for Webby, and the younger girl's excitement helped with Lena's own negative feelings around magic.

Webby poked at the makeup for a while longer until she'd decided that it was enough for now. Lena still wasn't sure if Webby was doing tests or just having fun, though it was probably a combination. Looking up from her phone, she saw Webby sitting on the bed across from her, knees up to her chest as she rocked slightly. And okay, maybe this has started as just a chill night, but now it was time for Lena to do things. She put her phone away and put all of the makeup in a neat pile between Webby and her, sorting it all in a way that would make it the easiest to find what she needed at any given time. One of the few things not-aunt Magica had cared to teach her. As much as her not-aunt hated the _magically_ changing her appearance, apparently something about makeup was different.

Lena looked back to Webby. "Any questions you wanna ask before we start with the makeup?" Webby nodded, making big motions with her head. "So, how do you control where things go with magic? There seems to be some kind of range on how far they can be from you before they start pulling back, do you control that range? Do you control where exactly they float or do you have a general area? Is moving them to a specific place more difficult than letting them float around? Do you control each bit individually or do you just give it all general directions like 'don't hit the ground'? Follow up question, if you don't usually control each bit individually, is that still possible? Or if you do control each bit individually, can you still give general directions and have it work? How do you rotate things? What's the heaviest thing you can lift with magic? What's the smallest, most fragile thing you can lift with magic without breaking it? Is it possible to lift people with it?" Lena thought about it all while Webby was talking, making sure to remember any answers she had, even if she would always forget the questions. "I think you've asked a lot of those before and I couldn't answer before either, sorry, though I can tell you that I once lifted both a subway carriage and your granny at the same time, and they were both in different directions. That's the most I've ever done." Webby squealed. "That. Is. Amazing! Also, when did _that_ happen? I really missed something." "Well... maybe I'll be able to show you something cool one day. For now, are you ready for some makeup?" Webby pumped her fist in the air. "Definitely!"

 

* * *

 

A few hours later, after trying many different looks and even bringing in all sorts of outfits and wigs to try out, Webby had an idea. Before, they'd mostly been impersonating people, but it was time for something a little closer to home. "Why don't we try the most girly look and the most boyish look we can get? That would be fun!" Lena gasped, a small blue glow the only sign that she'd dropped something. She remembered how wrong it had gone the last time she'd tried that. She remembered Magica. For a moment Lena had difficulty catching her breath, looking at her shadow to remind herself her not-aunt was gone. If she'd been alone it might have been worse but Webby was immediately right next to her, offering a hug and an apology. "Sorry, I didn't know that was a problem." Accepting the hug, Lena spoke, "It's okay, the idea isn't the problem. I think it sounds fun, so let's try it." Webby moved away a little to look at Lena's face. "Are you sure?" Webby had to look up a little, but she saw the taller girl smiling at her and nodding. "I'm sure, let's start with the boyish look." "Alright, but remember, if it's too much we stop immediately." She squeezed a little tighter before letting go of the other girl, who smiled at her. "Thanks, I won't forget." Lena gathered all of the makeup, by hand this time, still too shaken up to use magic. She picked out some bottles, powders and brushes and got started.

After a bunch of attempts and some makeup tutorial videos, Lena finally managed to get a result she was satisfied with for both Webby and herself. "Alright, I'm done with the makeup, what do we have for costumes?" Webby looked at the crate filled with clothes and wigs, furrowing her brow. "Well... We have some hats, some shirts, some skirts and some dresses. I don't think those last ones will help. But..." Webby grabbed two hats and a few shirts. "I think these will do." "Cool. Do you need anything for your hair?" "You mean like maybe..." Webby whispered the last word, "magic?" "Not what I was thinking of no. Though I guess that works." Webby jumped with joy. "Yes!"

After changing again and getting their hair ready, or rather, hidden, they were finally ready for the mirror. And so, Lena found herself staring at her reflection, barely noticing Webby's excitement next to her. And, well, it's not like she would be ugly as a boy but. It wasn't right. She thought she saw her shadow darkening, whispering words at her, _You're not supposed to think, you're supposed to listen to me, and I don't think I told you to be anything other than a girl, did I now!_ , and okay maybe this was a bad idea. "Lena? Is everything alright?" She snapped out of her thoughts. Webby's hair was down, which was entirely Lena's fault for getting too distracted, but it was fine. "I'm fine." She gave Webby a reassuring smile. "I'm just not a fan of looking like a boy is all." "Then we should try the girliest look now!" "Alright, let's try that."

This time it took fewer attempts, which had to do with Lena actually having used makeup to look more girly before. She hadn't been a fan. Her not-aunt had insisted on it as an important skill because she thought it would help Lena become friends with the kids at the mansion. In a way, it was helping right now. Which was not the goal her not-aunt had in mind, but that just made it better. This time Lena and Webby both decided to wear dresses and used wigs instead of hats. Lena had a yellow dress with blue flowers on it, Webby had found a simple pink dress. They both used wigs to make their hair look longer.

They both looked into the mirror, Lena was mostly looking at Webby, knowing that the most likely result of looking at _herself_ would ruin the fun. Of course, that strategy couldn't last forever. For now though, it worked. "Lena, look! I look so pretty!" "I can see that, but how is that any different from normal?" Lena smirked as Webby hid her face, in the most logical way, by pulling her wig over it. "Lenaaaaaaa, stooooooop." Lena crossed her arms. "Is that a weak spot I see? Is your secret weakness just 'being called pretty'? That would be really inconvenient if a villain found out you know." Webby threw the wig at Lena, who just laughed as it hit her face. "I'll have you know that it only works when a pretty girl says it, so it's not that much of a weakness." And there it was, a perfect chance to say something. Tell Webby that maybe she didn't feel like a girl, or at least not entirely. But Lena liked the idea of throwing her own wig at Webby more than the idea of having a serious conversation.

They hadn't meant to turn this into the wig equivalent of a pillowfight, but that's what it had turned into anyways, and neither of them minded. Webby had turned off the lights and put her nightvision goggles on. She was clearly expecting Lena to try to turn the lights back on, but Lena had a better idea. Webby could see her anyway, so making herself more obvious wouldn't be too much of a problem. And so they found themselves in a dark room, Webby with nightvision goggles on and a wig in each hand. Lena, glowing blue, brighter and brighter by the second, with glowing wigs floating around her, shielding her from a possible attack from any side. As far as Lena could tell, the room was empty, which really just meant that she had to move immediately and check the roof for Webby. She'd made the decision just in time judging from the wigs hitting the floor behind her. Two wigs, but that didn't mean Webby had ran out, it just meant she had to move to one of the places where she'd put wigs in case Lena managed to dodge. So, by that logic, Lena decided to brighten the room up just a little more, bathing the entire room in blue light as she scanned for movement, keeping the wigs mostly above and behind her. She could see the rest for herself. She just hoped she'd react fast enough to deal with any attacks. She was on guard, waiting for Webby to strike at any moment and... there! Using a bit of magic she propelled one of the wigs towards Webby, keeping the rest close for defense. As the wig hit however, she realized that it was just a dummy. She really didn't know how Webby could have a dummy so quickly but it was Webby so who knew if there weren't just dummies in secret places all around the house. More importantly, it had been a distraction which meant- "Take this!" Webby dropped onto Lena from above, her fall slowed down by the wigs floating above Lena, which gave Lena enough time to pull one into her hand. Lena moved to the side and Webby landed next to her, immediately both of them had a wig at the other's throat. 

Stalemate. 

Lena let go of the floating wigs, which fell on both her and Webby, though neither of them moved an inch, they simply stood there, wigs draped over them, staring at eachother intensly, or in Webby's case, about as intensly as one could while squinting as much as she was. It was a good thing she'd taken off the nightvision goggles at some point while Lena was trying to find her, or she'd have been blinded by Lena's magic. After several seconds of deadly silence, Webby spoke. "You know, I never got why people would talk about looking at someone like they are the sun, but now I get it." Lena managed to keep a serious face going for about two seconds before she burst into laughter. She let go of the wig that had been her weapon and pulled all of the other wigs off of herself too, dimming her glow a little, still laughing and actually she noticed it was only getting worse as Webby went to turn on the lights, now also laughing. With the lights on Lena let the glow fade away, not that she could have kept it up much longer anyways, she was laughing too much for that and actually, she had to sit down for a moment. She wasn't sure why she was laughing so much but it was really difficult not to, especially when Webby came to sit down next to her, also laughing too much.

After a solid five minutes of laughing, stopping, and then bursting into giggles again two seconds later, at some point ending up lying on the ground, they finally calmed down enough to be able to talk, though they were still trying to catch their breath. "Lena, that. Was. Amazing!" "That, was the most fun I've ever had in my entire life! How did you even know you'd fall through the wigs?" "It was a guess. And, I also know _your_ weakness!" Lena looked at Webby, an eyebrow raised. "Really? So what's my weakness?" "People taking metaphors literally." Lena smirked. "Only when a cute girl does it, so it's not that much of a weakness." Webby rolled over to lay on her side, facing away from Lena, while hiding her face behind her hands. "Is that another weakness right there? Not just being called pretty but also being called cute? Two weaknesses is quite a lot don't you think?" "Lenaaaaaaaaaa." Lena chuckled before getting up. "Well, I'm gonna go get this makeup off, there should be enough makeup remover left, even after all we used today." All Lena heard from Webby was a muffled noise which was probably something like 'okay'.

Lena was waiting for Webby, lost in thought, one word constantly floating through her mind. _Demigirl._ A word which she would never be able to say to not-aunt Magica. But her not-aunt wasn't her problem anymore, so that shouldn't matter. What mattered was Webby and the McDucks. Webby had seemed curious about it, which was a good sign, hopefully. Lena had also managed to avoid actually looking into the mirror with her makeup on, of course she needed a mirror to apply the makeup but that felt different somehow, more distant. _Demigirl._ What to do. She looked at her friendship bracelet. _No secrets, no lies. I promise, if there's anything going on that you should know about, I'll tell you._ Was it time to make good on that promise? Technically she didn't promise anything about _when_ she'd tell Webby about important things, but she hadn't made a promise just so she could avoid following it anyways on the basis of what she _technically_ promised. So. She'd tell Webby. Today. Which meant she didn't have much time left to figure out how.

She didn't have a chance to make a plan because Webby appeared. Now they were both back to the way they usually looked. Regular clothes, regular faces, regular hair. Lena started tapping nervously as Webby took the book Lena had put on the bed earlier. Webby seemed content to simply read, but Lena's tapping went faster and faster and faster and- "Aaaagh I can't take this anymore!" Lena paused for a moment to make sure she wouldn't yell the next part. "Webby, I'm not a girl. I'm not a boy either. Do you remember that word we looked up earlier? Demigirl?" Webby nodded, eyes widened in, well, Lena couldn't tell right now, but she just hoped it was surprise and not shock. She continued, hoping this didn't ruin anything. "I-..." Her voice cracked. "I think, that, maybe I sort of kinda might... might be a demigirl." Tears were already forming in her eyes and she made herself as small as possible in anticipation of the words _You're not supposed to think, you're supposed to listen to me, and I don't think I told you to be anything other than a girl, did I now!_ being yelled at her. It wouldn't be the first time. Everything seemed to become dark around Lena and sounds, however few there may have been, felt muffled and far away. Tears were already starting to run down her cheeks.

And then there was warmth. Arms around her in a tight hug bringing her back to reality. She returned the hug, squeezing her eyes shut, not able to believe everything was fine unless Webby said so. For about a fear-filled minute it was silent while Webby tried to figure out what to say. When Webby spoke it was nearly a whisper, as if she was afraid that Lena would shatter if she spoke any louder. It wasn't far from the truth. "Lena... I might not understand what that word means, but if it's important to you, I want to learn everything there is to know about it. I want to know as much about you as you're comfortable sharing, and if you're a demigirl I'd like to know what that means, and if it turns out you're something else, I'd like to know what that something else means." Relief washed over Lena at those words, though she only started crying more, clinging to Webby. She managed to speak in between sobs. "Thank you."

For a while, the only sounds were occasional sobs coming from Lena, until those stopped and all that was left was the sounds of breathing. Lena was still breathing heavily, trying not to start sobbing again. Eventually, even her breathing calmed down and the room was as silent as it could ever be when there were people in it. It was peaceful. For one amazing minute, Lena could pretend that the hug and the acceptance she got from Webby were all that existed. Eventually she let go of Webby and wiped away her tears. Webby looked at her, and while Lena wasn't great at guessing anything other than 'hatred' or 'annoyance' with facial expressions, it was clear as day that Webby was concerned. "Are you okay?" Lena took a moment to consider her answer. "Yeah, I think I'm okay now." Webby gave Lena a quick hug before speaking again. "I'm glad you're okay." Lena smiled, trying to reassure Webby, as a wave of exhaustion washed over her. She slumped a bit, eyelids drooping as she tried to stifle a yawn. Webby smiled softly, speaking at a normal volume, which was comparable to whispering if you knew how she usually sounded when she said the words "Do you want to have a sleepover?" Lena nodded, too tired to speak or do anything, really. "Then I'll be back in five minutes okay?" In response, Lena managed to make a vague noise which she hoped would come across as a yes.

True to her word, Webby was back five minutes later, having brushed her teeth and changed to her sleeping clothes. Lena was just barely able to get out of bed to do the same, and ten minutes later she was also ready to sleep. She got into the bed and Webby turned off the light. Webby reached for Lena's hand on the side that had their friendship bracelets, linking their fingers."Good night, Lena." The response was mostly mumbled, and Webby could barely make out the words. "Good night, Webby." Lena fell asleep quickly, but Webby was awake for a while longer. When she was sure Lena was asleep she grabbed her phone, careful not to disturb Lena. She turned the brightness all the way down and only used one hand, making sure the other was still linked with Lena's. Her phone's background was a photo Lena had made, she'd asked for Webby's phone so she could show her how to make a selfie. It had happened during the first week that Lena had been back and Webby smiled at the memory. But that wasn't what she'd grabbed her phone for. She tapped the search bar and typed in a single word, demigirl, it was difficult when only using one hand, but it worked. It would be a few more hours before Webby would fall asleep, even though Lena insisted she should get some rest at one point when she was awake for about a minute. Webby had reassured her that she was just looking something up and Lena had fallen right back asleep.


End file.
